The Prime Minsiter And The Cabinet Flashcards

Question

CASE STUDY: Response to national crises and emergency situations —> the covid pandemic

Answer 1

-2020 gov faced an unprecedented crises in the coronavirus pandemic Previous national crises: -global financial meltdown 2008-09 (Brown) -7/7 bombings (Brown) -Manchester Arena suicide bombing 2017 (May) -covid saw draconian measures of lockdowns being put in place, construction of large field hospitals such as Nightingale Hospital -Coronavirus Act 2020: allowed for penalties to be issued to those who broke restriction + Chancellor (Sunak) brought in the furlough scheme to protect the jobs of workers

Answer 2

-campaigns for action to deal with climate change (Greta Thunberg, Extinction Rebellion) -consequently 2019 UK gov pledged to cut greenhouse emissions to almost zero by 2050

Answer 3

-introduction of poll tax by Thatcher (1990) -invasion of Iraq by Blair (2003) -early election by May (2017)

Answer 4

-people paid a property based tax, wasn't paid by many -conservatives wanted to reform this -after Thatchers 3rd successive victory 1987 she passed a bit putting forward the pill tax -replaced the domestic rate with a flat rate change -first rolled out in Scotland 1989 and then the rest of the UK

Answer 5

Seen as one of Thatchers biggest political misjudgements -tax was very unpopular in Scotland -Major poll tax riots broke out in London (100 injuries and 400 arrests following following an anti-poll tax rally in London) -Poll tax was difficult to collect (high rates of evasion) -internal opposition within Thatchers own party led to a leadership challenge by a former cabinet member Micheal Hesletine (Thatcher failed to receive enough votes in the first ballot + advised to step down before she went to the second ballot) -Poll Tax shows a PMs ability to dictate policy + because Thatcher acted alone she had no political cover when it went wrong -Poll Tax was seen as the final straw in Thatchers leadership

Answer 6

-he was approached by US President George.W Bush -Blair justified the UK's involvement on the moral groups of the removal of WMDs -military victory was simple + Saddam Hussein was soon removed -creating peace in Iraq after was difficult + there was a bloody civil war -180 British lives lost and 1000's of Iraqis

Answer 7

-there was no pressure from the cabinet, wider party or the public for troops to be sent to Iraq -decision was a result of Blair wanting to cement relationship with Bush -2016 Chilcot Report: highly critical of the Govs action, found ministers had been briefed repeatedly but denied access to key papers -Blairs sofa gov meant there were no formal collective decisions -Blair disregarded security warnings + other methods other than going to war had not been fully evaluated -Blair lacked both political or diplomatic cover when it was found there were no WMDs -resignation of high profile ministers Robin Cook and Clare Short weakened Blair's position -suicide of gov scientist Dr David Kelly also increased scrutiny

Answer 8

-wanted her own personal endorsement from voters + she took over the premiership mid term -May was convinced that she needed her own mandate to push the Brexit and wanted an increased majority -polls indicated that there was a 20% lead for the conservatives (didn't go well, conservatives lost 13 seats) -conservative manifesto flopped, a policy on funding care for the elderly was dubbed the 'dementia tax' -evidence that May relied too much on a small inner circle (key SpADs: Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill

Answer 9

-each case involved decision taken directly by the PM -each case appeared rational and logical at outset -each case was a gamble + none of them had to be taken in response to a particular crises -in all cases the PM failed to consul widely -each decision ended in failure and contributed significantly to each leaders resignation

Answer 10

-poll tax was a conviction policy, the 2017 election was determined by political and electoral considerations + invasion of Iraq resulted from pressure from an ally -Poll tax came at the end of a long established premiership + the Iraq War came in the middle and Mays election was early on in her premiership -2017 election was a more direct test of the PMs ability as a political campaigner, compared to the poll tax and the Iraq War -Iraq War didn't immediately end Blair's premiership (he went on to win the 2005 election but his majority fell to 66)

Answer 11

-cabinet reshuffles -chair weekly cabinet meetings and setting the agenda -arranging and sometimes chairing cabinet committees -dictating policy priorities -issuing honours such as life peerages

Answer 12

-15 including George Osborne and Micheal Grove

Answer 13

-opinion poll ratings and the result of by elections and local council elections -personalities in their cabinet and party at the time -potential leadership challenges -the strength and threat posed by the main opposition party

Answer 14

-leadership election against Thatcher was generated by ex-ministers Michael Heseltine -reshuffles can make a leader appear weak or difficult to work with

Answer 15

-cabinet meeting held in Sunderland on 31st January 2020 -in recognition of it being the first city to declare a leave result in the EU referendum

Answer 16

-these requirements that all members of the cabinet and government must support the PM and policy in public enabling a united common form to be presented to the media

Answer 17

-'implementation committees' -in response to the pandemic -4 committees focused on healthcare, the general public sector, economic and business and international response

Answer 18

-Blair created large numbers of cabinet committees but they did not fit in with his sofa style government

Answer 19

-Oliver Letdown said they help the gov + abide by the rules that underpinned the coalition

Answer 20

-to support the PM and ensure the effective running of gov -effectively the corporate headquarters and the secretariat for central gov -co-ordinates work between departments + takes minutes in meetings -individual PMs tweak the priorities of the cabinet office + during covid the cabinet office set up the taped response unit to deal with misinformation about the virus

Answer 21

-Blair and Brown made 173 Labour peers and 66 Conservatives -May and Cameron appointed 136 Conservative peers and 59 Labour peers -appointment of honours can lead to accusations of cronyism -Andrew Cook awarded the Conservative Party £1 million and was awarded a knighthood -Boris Johnson awarded his own brother Jo Johnson a peerage

Answer 22

1982: -Thatchers decision to undertake a major military operation in the Falklands war -contributed greatly to Thatchers landslide election in 1983 -it was a risk that paid off, boosting her authority both in the country and within the party 2014: -Cameron agreed to a vote on Scottish Independence -by campaigning for Scotland to remain in the UK, he was putting his political authority on the line -when Scotland voted remain he failed political stature in making the right call -Blair called and won early elections in 2001 and 2005 -cemented his position and authority in the party -did not deflect criticism for some of his controversial policies

Answer 23

-ministers run their own departments + have a degree of autonomy over policy details + PM's are unlikely to micromanage all senior ministers -ministers have their own links to the media and to key pressure groups + they can leak information (2019 defence Secretary Gavin Williamson was sacked for allegedly leaking press details from a national security council over security threats posed by Huawei) -powerful ministers can refused to be removed in a reshuffle (2018 Hunt refused to be moved from his post and ended up adding social care to his policy portfolio) -cabinet meetings involve real debate and discussion -biggest weapon available to ministers is being able to resign at their own accord (large numbers of ministers resigning implies a weak and divided government)

Answer 24

-cabinet remains the key forum for high level policy devisions -cabinet can still influence policy and promote a coordinated response to policy -senior and influential ministers can be hard/impossible to sack e.g Gordon Brown for Blair and Jeremy Hunt for May -too many cabinet resignations can be a sign of weakness -gov departments contain their own special senior civil servants who provide ministers with policy support and expertise

Answer 25

-many decisions are made in cabinet committee level or in bilateral meetings -many meeting are brief, cabinet is used more frequently to resolve or arbitrate disputes between departments -cabinet ministers are appointed by the PM and must do their bidding -PMs can appear decisive by removing opponents in cabinet -Cabinet Office as well as special advisors play on important role in providing research and policy advice and can bypass the formal cabinet structure

Answer 26

-it enables the gov to speak with one voice and present a united front to parliament, the media and the public -without collective responsibility Govs would appear chaotic and openly divided -those who cannot accept collective responsibility are obliged to resign

Answer 27

-during the referendums in 1975 and 2016 over Britain's continued membership of the EU -2016 over the Govs new plans to build a third runway at Heathrow -during the 2011 AV referendum

Answer 28

-by non-attributal ministerial lead and by one dissent -2016-18 foreign secretary Boris Johnson gave interviews such and set out policies to undermine gov

Answer 29

-accepting the blame for an error or injustice within their department by civil servants and officials -unwillingness to accept collective responsibility over a policy -an inability to delve a policy proves in their own department -personal misconduct -political pressure

Answer 30

Sir Thomas Dugdale and the Crichel Down Affair: -1954 Sir Thomas Dugdale resigned as minister of Agriculture after an independent inquiry criticised his department for mishandling the compulsory purchase of 725 acres of farmland in Crichel Down -clear evidence of civil service mistakes, but Dugdale took the blame resigned

Answer 31

-2003, two leading Labour front benchers, Robin Cook and Clare Short resigned over the Iraq War -Mike Crockart and Jenny Willot resigned rather than support the gov policy of increasing tuition fees -more than 30 conservative minsters resigned over Mays Brexit deal, included Brexit secretaries David Davis and Dominic Raab

Answer 32

-Sports Minister Tracey crouch resigned over delay to a crackdown on maximum stakes for fixed-odds betting machines

Answer 33

-several ministers had to leave after falsely claiming expenses: Maria Miller in 2014 and David Laws in 2010 -LiDem MP Chris Huhne was forced out in 2012 after preventing the course of justice: got his wife to take his speeding points to avoid a driving ban

Answer 34

Priti Patel forced to quit in 2017, she has been dishonest with May about 14 unofficial meetings with Israeli Ministers, business people and a senior lobbyist whilst on a private holiday 2019, Patel was appointed by Johnson as Home Secretary when he became PM in 2019

Answer 35

-answers in parliament often favour style over substance (Minister chose to avoid difficult and probing questions) -principles can be open to interpretation, ministers claim they were unaware of the error and are unlikely to resign if they have the backing of the PM -select committees have relatively little power, a poor performance does not guarantee a dismissal -most of the time, partly is guaranteed - because of party discipline, few on their own benches attack the executive

Answer 36

-televising PMQs makes a poor performance in PMQs have a greater impact -all members of the executive must follow the principles on standards expected in public life as set out in the Ministerial Code -Ministers appear before select committees and must be truthful in hearings -PM above all must retain the support of the part - when this becomes weak, a PMs position can become untenable

The Prime Minsiter And The Cabinet Flashcards

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